In a daring heist, thieves have stolen eight engravings by the renowned French artist Henri Matisse from the Biblioteca Mário de Andrade in São Paulo, Brazil. The theft, which occurred on Sunday, also involved the theft of at least five engravings by Brazilian painter Cândido Portinari, adding to the cultural loss. The thieves, armed with a sense of audacity, held up a security guard and an elderly couple before making their escape with the artworks. The exhibition, titled 'From Book to Museum', was on its final day, making the theft all the more poignant. The Biblioteca Mário de Andrade, being the country's second-largest library, had facial recognition cameras, yet the thieves managed to evade detection. The mayor of São Paulo confirmed the thieves' identity but stated that they remain at large. The stolen works, including a collage by Matisse titled 'Jazz', are considered priceless by art critics, with the value of the collection described as 'incalculable'. This incident comes on the heels of a similar brazen break-in at the Louvre museum in Paris, where thieves made off with priceless jewels, leaving the art world in a state of heightened vigilance.
